The Quarantine Diaries: Day 41-50.

Yesterday, I lost another pretty big client due to COVID-19. I totally understand, but it’s a scary thought. He said he would hire me back once things were closer to “normal life”, so at least there’s that. However, when I look at the calendar for next week, I realized there’s very little (read: basically none) client work to be done.

Day 42: Saturday, April 25, 2020

I had so many big plans for the weekend: to read, to work on my patio garden… and it really just wasn’t happening. As I keep saying, the mental part of this is the most difficult. I’m getting low on coffee, which made me realize that I’ve gone through three bags of coffee in 40 days… seems excessive.

Day 43: Sunday, April 26, 2020

I decided to try and be proactive and get my to-do list ready for the week. It will help keep me motivated and when the week is over, I’ll at least feel a little bit productive. So, I made a list of things I can do to make money — some are things like making a new profile on gig-work sites and others are things like brainstorming for Patreon post ideas. My goal is to complete one thing from the list each day list week.

Day 44: Monday, April 27, 2020

I had a Creative Session booked with someone this morning. He’d come across a rare collection of goodies in his home and wanted to make a blog of it. Honestly, the conversation I had with him was a great reminder of why I do what I do. I also was incredibly jealous that this guy came across something so cool and was able to use this time in self-isolation to really dive into it.

After lunch, I decided to venture to the grocery store, mostly since I was out of coffee — but I’d made a list big enough for another month in the Q. I was having anxiety about going and wasn’t feeling any better when I arrived at HEB and saw a long line (with everyone six-feet apart) outside. Luckily, it didn’t take long for them to let the line inside and it was nice having the store not be so busy. I felt like HEB had really done a lot of work to make everything as safe as possible, and I was relieved to check that item off my list.

Day 45: Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Yesterday wasn’t really a full day of work since it took me a few hours to go to the store, wipe everything down after and scrub down (it’s an exhausting chore). So, today I was able to get several things done (work-wise) and even took Blanche on an hour-long walk!

Day 46: Wednesday, April 29, 2020

I had a call scheduled with a potential client at 9am, so I set my alarm, but woke up around 4 am because it was storming loudly outside. I stayed up and did a little bit of work, and when the call time rolled around, the potential client stood me up.

I feel like there was a lot of weirdness surrounding this person anyway, but I’m trying to be more understanding right now, given the circumstances. However, I still want to set a precedent for myself in this business. Ugh.

Day 47: Thursday, April 30, 2020

It’s the last day of the month, which means it’s the day I send out a majority of the invoices to my clients. I also balanced my checkbook and got everything lined up for May bills. I have never paid such close attention to my finances until I started working for myself — I always need to know how long I can go before I need to get desperate in looking for work (ha!). Things are looking good for a bit, thankfully.

Day 48: Friday, May 1, 2020

Okay, my plan to be productive during the week actually worked. It’s Friday, and I don’t have a huge list of things to do, which I like. And, I can actually enjoy my weekend! I needed to start my car today (I’ve been making it a point to at least drive it around the block every few days), so I went to the pharmacy drive-thru for a prescription I needed and then drove to PTerry’s for a veggie burger 🙂

Day 49: Saturday, May 2, 2020

All of the plants I ordered online have arrived, so I’ve been slowly working on the patio. I had to toss all of the things that died during the winter and am “baking” my old soil in the sun to reuse it for my new plants. It’s a tedious process, but it’s going fine so far. I like listening to podcasts while I sit outside a work. Blanche seems to like it, too.

Day 50: Sunday, May 3, 2020

I feel like this weekend was my first OK one in a while. I didn’t have anything planned, but I tried to keep busy. I worked some on the patio — stopping when I felt too tired — cooked a little, cleaned a little, and finished reading a book. I even watched some TV, which seems to be tough-and-go lately. I do have quite a bit of client work to do this week, so that’s good. I’m still going to try and keep things 9-5, and hopefully finish a good chunk Monday-Thursday, so my Friday is lite.

More Quarantine Diaries to come soon. Please note that I am not a doctor, health expert, or experienced in quarantine or self-isolation in any way. I am only reporting my daily experience while living during a public health crisis.

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3 Comments

This was such a good read! Definitely agree that the mental aspect of staying indoors during this isolation period has proved to be the hardest, but things like making lists, taking breaks and really organising my time has made it a little bit easier! x

I planted two new succulents (a moon blossom cactus and a sunrise succulent), some cat grass and catnip seeds, a bougainvillea and a small magnolia tree. I’m waiting on a holly bush to arrive and then I’ll be done!

The Squeeze

The Bitter Lemon is home to Writer, Editor and Digital Strategist, Holly A. Phillips. She’s an obsessive dreamer, TV-addict, and a relentless creative, who owns an Etsy shop. She currently lives in Austin, Texas with her cat, Blanche Devereaux.